Nathan Willmott becomes BLP’s Head of Financial Regulatory Group

International law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has today (7 May 2015) announced the appointment of Partner Nathan Willmott as Head of Financial Regulatory Group. He takes over the role from Sidney Myers who will remain at the firm.

Nathan joined BLP in 2007 from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. He specialises in representing financial institutions and their senior management on their dealings with the PRA and FCA, including on regulatory investigations and enforcement actions. Nathan has acted on a variety of UK and cross-border investigations into suspected mis-selling, mis-marking, short-selling, conflicts of interest, equities market manipulation, product governance, financial crime controls and manipulation of pricing mechanisms (including multi-jurisdictional investigations relating to LIBOR, FX and commodity trading). He is a member of the Financial Services Lawyers Association and was awarded a Tier One ranking for contentious regulatory work in the latest edition of Chambers.

Former Head of Financial Regulatory Group, Sidney Myers, will remain a key member of BLP’s financial services practice and continue to focus on client work, with Nathan leading the overall strategic development of the group itself.

Commenting on his appointment, Nathan said: “Now is a particularly exciting time to take over this role and lead the group. Regulation has pushed its way to the top of Board agendas and it is great to work closely with members of senior management on how to enhance their business and meet the regulators’ increasingly onerous expectations. Our clear focus is on alerting our clients to issues at an early stage, to enable them to address concerns well before the regulators take an interest. Our excellent team, which has great practical experience gained in part from working at various regulators and exchanges, really understands the workings of the PRA and FCA meaning we’re able to offer solutions to our clients on the significant challenges that they face on the regulatory side.”

Lisa Mayhew, Managing Partner, BLP, added: “Having worked in both private practice and also as Head of the Equitable Life Judicial Inquiry Unit, Nathan fully understands what’s needed to best advise clients in today’s changing market. This expertise makes him the ideal appointment to lead the strategic development of the team.”

BLP’s Financial Regulatory Group is recognised as one of the industry leaders in the financial sector. The team has worked on some of the most complex and significant matters across the industry and advised many of the world’s largest banks, insurers and other authorised firms on their dealings with the PRA, FCA and other authorities. It is closely integrated with the firm’s antitrust, corporate crime, data security, health and safety, and employment practices to provide joined up solutions to the complex issues faced by each of our corporate clients.

The practice was recently strengthened with the appointment of Financial Regulatory specialist Martin Sandler as a Partner. Internationally, the Litigation and Dispute Resolution department has also boosted its practice in Hong Kong with a significant team hire of nine lawyers, including three Partners, from Haley & Co, an independent, boutique law firm.